"Original" Artists Today?

[Matthew Tsai]

i saw this interesting post on indievisionmusic's forums the other day:

http://www.indievisionmusic.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=644

what do you guys think? i pretty much agree w/ the whole thrice thing.

[SickOfStars]

I don't think anything that can be considered "music" by conventional standards can really be called original anymore these days. so in my opinion, it's all gravy. there is a certain line of derivativeness that shouldn't really be crossed often though.

[Matthew Tsai]

hmm, i agree w/ that too

[chaosB4storm]

I also agree. But I'm not a huge fun of the *originality* argument. Everyone sets their bar at a certain spot on how original their favourite bands have to be. Like, for the most part, people that strictly listen to the radio do not set their originality bar very high. It comes down to how much you've listened to. If you've listened to a small amount of music, you don't require as much originality to enjoy it. If you've listened to a lot, you will probably need a lot of originality to thoroughly respect what the band is doing.

But yes, the term original is kind of like the word perfect. You can strive for either one, but it is absolutely impossible to achieve it 100% in musical terms.

That is why we should not talk about bands in terms of strictly whether they are 1. original, or 2. unoriginal...........instead, we should talk in terms of how original they are.

[El_Jeffe]

tinariwen (http://www.myspace.com/tinariwen). one of my favourite bands, who hail from the sahara that have pretty much created a whole new sound from the guitar. the way they make the music "drive" forward with such force & energy. these guys are huge round the world, they are to modern world music what radiohead is to todays rock

their album from last year is one of the most defining in recent time

[chaosB4storm]

i will check them out

[SanePsychotic]

tinariwen (http://www.myspace.com/tinariwen). one of my favourite bands, who hail from the sahara that have pretty much created a whole new sound from the guitar. the way they make the music "drive" forward with such force & energy. these guys are huge round the world, they are to modern world music what radiohead is to todays rock

their album from last year is one of the most defining in recent time

I'm digging the guitar sound. It'd take some getting used to, but I can see myself getting into this.

[chaosB4storm]

me too. El Jeffe knows what e's talking about....but I alreay knew that.

im just so into lyrics that a band singing a different language could never be my favourite,

But i think i would really like listening to them while under the influence of certain...things.

[SanePsychotic]

me too. El Jeffe knows what e's talking about....but I alreay knew that.

im just so into lyrics that a band singing a different language could never be my favourite,

But i think i would really like listening to them while under the influence of certain...things.

Yeah, the language is pretty much what I'd have to get used to. I like the general sound of it though (so far).

[El_Jeffe]

if we're looking at this concept of originality in general. i think originality is still out there, in many differnt formations & ranges of originality. but there's many angles to it, like technology for starters. from the basic invention of the (electric) guitar etc, to things like synthesizers, or samplers. or another form is by writing or arranging music that takes elements of different genres & fusing them to create something new & fresh in order to break new grounds. obviously there's also creating a whole new path in music, but even that's sometimes more of finding a "gap" than a completely new territory

i don't think the days of complete originality are over, but like every era, they are rare

I'm digging the guitar sound. It'd take some getting used to, but I can see myself getting into this.

the story behind the band is pretty powerful in itself. it's a whole new form of music that can't be traced back to the likes of chuck berry or any other defining guitarist. it's new & exciting. but if you do hear something that sounds familiar from them, it's not, these guys have been around for decades & their influence worldwide is strong. they have hundreds of followers & copiers. despite their early albums being very localized, shows the true power & magic of live music

me too. El Jeffe knows what e's talking about....but I alreay knew that.

im just so into lyrics that a band singing a different language could never be my favourite,

But i think i would really like listening to them while under the influence of certain...things.

i can understand that mate, but don't let it put you off completely. as i was saying the story behind these guys is pretty powerful & if you buy an album, they lyrics come in their native tongue & in english. once you read through them, it doesn't take long for you to understand the song soo much more, despite the language barrier. i'm sure there's a many technical terms & reasoning behind the creation of languages. but to me, in very basic terms, they are simply a way of recognizably putting forward emotions for the interpretation & understanding of others, & whether you're fluent in their native tongue or not, ya can definitely pick up on the real awe of these emotions. it's a beautiful thing, music

[chaosB4storm]

very convincing, i will look up their lyrics in english and continue to listen.

[IWasaCamera]

The largest issue with this is how one defines the term "original". Is it to conceive something that has simply never been done before? What about pairing two styles that aren't typically concordant, is that applicable? Adding slight twists to old formulas? Once an agreement on what constitutes originality is reached, it'll be far easier for me to assess the thread's question.